Simply this March, whereas launching the guide Hedgewar: A Definitive Biography in Mumbai, he aired his ideas on the language controversy within the state, with Chief Minister M.Okay. Stalin opposing “Hindi imposition”.

“In Tamil Nadu, phrases act as weapons, and if we preserve dividing it additional, it might be like boarding a city bus the place you have to present your passport to get on and get off. That’s the floor actuality,” he mentioned.

Equally, when Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi sparked a row along with his feedback towards Sanatana Dharma in 2023, Radhakrishnan took a swipe at him whereas talking in Salem.

“Many Mughal kings tried to destroy Sanatana and killed Hindus. I solely discover it humorous that the Sanatana which survived such makes an attempt will likely be eradicated by him (Udhayanidhi),” he mentioned.

Selecting Radhakrishnan for the second-highest publish in India was thus not a tough activity for the BJP, which leads the NDA.

Talking to ThePrint, a BJP functionary mentioned: “The celebration thought-about many names. It was clear the brand new Vice President could be from the RSS-BJP cadre, figuring out the Dhankhar experiment didn’t go effectively.”

He was referring to Jagdeep Dhankhar who resigned abruptly as Vice President final month after accepting an opposition discover for impeaching Justice Yashwant Varma over alleged corruption, at a time when the Centre was attempting to make it a bipartisan train. His exit was formally over well being considerations however it’s believed that what sealed his destiny was this “act of revolt” towards the federal government.

“The BJP has labored arduous to make inroads into Tamil Nadu. Annamalai was chosen because the BJP state president regardless of opposition from the outdated guard, and it helped BJP’s growth. Earlier than the state election, to make peace with the AIADMK, the celebration changed him. Radhakrishnan is likely one of the most revered names within the Tamil Nadu BJP, so elevating him as Vice President, the second-highest publish, the celebration has despatched a message to the cadre of Tamil Nadu notably and South India generally.”

One other BJP chief mentioned that the celebration’s growth within the south occurred within the Vajpayee period, when leaders like Venkaiah Naidu have been promoted as BJP president, Yediyurappa as CM, and Ananth Kumar as cupboard minister.

“Later, (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi continued this southern funding by selling G. Kishan Reddy, L. Murugan and actor Suresh Gopi from Kerala as Union ministers, and leaders from Radhakrishnan to L. Ganesan to governorships,” mentioned the second chief. The Centre has, in actual fact, picked 5 governors from Tamil Nadu since 2014.

“What Venkaiah Naidu’s elevation did for the celebration in Andhra and Telangana 20 years in the past, Radhakrishnan’s elevation as Vice President will do for the BJP in Tamil Nadu.”

A 3rd BJP chief who has noticed Radhakrishnan’s rise within the celebration advised ThePrint: “Aside from caste and Tamil issues, a significant factor in his choice was his closeness and loyalty to the PM.”

“He was near Venkaiah Naidu when he was BJP president, and when Modi was CM of Gujarat, he got here in shut contact with him. After the Dhankhar fiasco, loyalty has grow to be a significant factor, particularly given the significance of the Rajya Sabha.”

When the PM posted on social media after Radhakrishnan’s choice as NDA candidate, he underlined Radhakrishnan’s grassroots work in Tamil Nadu.

“In his lengthy years in public life, Thiru C.P. Radhakrishnan Ji has distinguished himself along with his dedication, humility and mind. Through the numerous positions he has held, he has at all times targeted on neighborhood service and empowering the marginalised. He has finished in depth work on the grassroots in Tamil Nadu. I’m glad that the NDA household has determined to appoint him because the Vice-Presidential candidate of our alliance,” he mentioned on X.

Figuring out the NDA’s majority, Radhakrishnan can effectively sail to the Vice President’s chair. His choice on the BJP parliamentary board assembly Sunday, nonetheless, left many hopefuls from the northern states of Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat dissatisfied.

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A loyalist

Radhakrishnan, who hails from the OBC Gounder neighborhood, began his political journey as an RSS swayamsevak in 1973, when the late Suryanarayana Rao was pracharak. A 12 months later, he turned a state government member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the precursor to the BJP.

In 1996, he was appointed secretary of the BJP in Tamil Nadu and was elected to the Lok Sabha for the primary time from Coimbatore in 1998 following the Coimbatore bombings. He was re-elected to the Home in 1999 throughout Vajpayee’s time and Venkaiah Naidu and Rajnath Singh’s tenures as BJP president. Between 2004 and 2007, he served as Tamil Nadu BJP president.

His 1998 ballot victory got here throughout the BJP’s alliance with the AIADMK and the 1999 one in alliance with the DMK. After that, he unsuccessfully contested the 2004 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

One in all Radhakrishnan’s key organisational works was a 19,000 km rath yatra that lasted 93 days. The yatra was organised to spotlight the calls for for linking all Indian rivers, eradicating terrorism, implementing a uniform civil code, eradicating untouchability, and combating the menace of narcotic medicine. He led two extra padayatras for various causes.

In 2016, after Modi took over as PM, Radhakrishnan was appointed chairman of the Coir Board of India, a place he held for 4 years. Beneath his management, coir exports from India reached an all-time excessive of Rs 2,532 crore, based on the Maharashtra Raj Bhavan.

From 2020 to 2022, he was the all-India in-charge of BJP for Kerala. He was subsequently appointed as Governor of Jharkhand, Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.

His appointment as Governor of Jharkhand had led to many within the Tamil Nadu BJP speculating that the celebration needed to clear the street for the aggressive Annamalai. Nonetheless, throughout his tenure in Jharkhand, Radhakrishnan toured the state extensively, making JMM chief Hemant Soren uncomfortable.

He has usually hailed the RSS in his speeches and his connection to the outfit is seen as a significant factor in his political development. At one operate in Maharashtra, he recalled the affect of RSS founder Hedgewar.

“He began the organisation with schoolboys. Folks questioned whether or not these small boys might construct a Hindu Rashtra, however he by no means anxious. As we speak, RSS is likely one of the largest nationwide corps, producing individuals who dwell for society and the nation,” he mentioned.

Whereas talking on the language row in Tamil Nadu this March, he claimed that “secessionist forces” stay energetic in Tamil Nadu and Punjab, albeit in several methods, and mentioned the ideas of unity and integration propounded by Hedgewar have been extra related at this time than ever.

In his numerous utterances, nonetheless, Radhakrishnan has been cautious to not cross any crimson strains.

A diplomat

One in all Radhakrishnan’s key strengths is that he’s seen as having associates in each the DMK and AIADMK.

The DMK will notably face a peculiar downside in attacking his candidature for the Vice President’s publish, for regardless of his assaults on Stalin and his son over the Sanatan Dharma row, he has additionally praised the Tamil Nadu CM.

After the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, through which the DMK-Congress mix swept Tamil Nadu, in an uncommon transfer, Radhakrishnan described Stalin because the “commander who defeated the BJP”. At a wedding operate in Tiruppur, he additionally mentioned that “all of us (within the BJP) should work much more like (late DMK chief and Stalin’s father) Karunanidhi”.

Pragmatically, Radhakrishnan has additionally stored communication channels open with the DMK.

Final month, when information broke of Stalin being in poor health, he visited his home to investigate about his well being. And when Stalin’s brother-in-law M. Selvam died final October, he was among the many first leaders to go to and pay respects to the household.

By elevating an OBC Tamilian to the publish of Vice President, the BJP can also be seen as sending a political message to the OBC neighborhood, notably in western Tamil Nadu. The Gounder neighborhood, which is estimated to make up about 10% of the state inhabitants, is a big electoral constituency. AIADMK chief Edappadi Palaniswami, who’s main the state alliance with the BJP, additionally belongs to the Gounder neighborhood, and so does Annamalai.

Curiously, Radhakrishnan has lengthy been conscious of the significance of Hindi for the BJP. A journalist who has identified him carefully advised ThePrint that “not like different Tamil politicians, he was effectively conscious of the significance of Hindi language for the BJP. So, each time he visited Delhi, he used to take classes in Hindi.”

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)

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